Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 1.1% – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price rose 1.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $164.21 and last traded at $163.42. Approximately 4,597,465 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 6,038,601 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on VST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Vistra from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Bank of America cut their target price on Vistra from $231.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Evercore lifted their price target on Vistra from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $241.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $236.40.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $55.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.98.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($0.27). Vistra had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 82.27%. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.75 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a $0.228 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total transaction of $3,605,774.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 297,998 shares in the company, valued at $48,290,575.90. The trade was a 6.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VST. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,709,519,000 after acquiring an additional 390,157 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Vistra by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,228,880,000 after purchasing an additional 226,514 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vistra by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,441,112,000 after purchasing an additional 97,424 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,392,299,000 after purchasing an additional 930,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth about $930,080,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

Vistra (NYSE: VST) is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company’s operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra’s core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.